OPRF students walked out to protest Trump’s first year 

Approximately 200 students at Oak Park and River Forest High School walked out of school at around 2 p.m. on Jan 20 to mark the one-year anniversary of the inauguration of Donald Trump as president. The walkout was part of national movement to stage walkouts at the same time on Jan 20 to protest Trump and the current administration in what was called Free America Walkout.  

 The organizer of the protest at OPRF was senior LJ Hickman. The week before the walkout an Instagram post about the national plans to stage walkouts at 2 p.m. on Jan 20 led her to organize one at OPRF. 

“I saw it and I felt very inspired because I know a lot of time a lot of students and young people don’t feel like their voices are important or powerful but I want to make it super known and so widespread that is absolutely a powerful thing because the future is in our hands,” Hickman told Wednesday Journal.  

The students, who were marked absent for the class time that they missed, were accompanied by about 20 adult marshals who were local activists not connected with OPRF. Among them were Oak Park Village Board member Jenna Leving Jacobson and Scott Sakiyama, who was arrested by ICE officers as he was following those officers in Oak Park in October.  

“I just mentor the young organizers,” said Lisa who just gave her last name as P.V. “They said they wanted to organize a walkout and I just want to keep them safe.” 

Lisa advises a group of young activists, including Hickman, who have formed what they call the Gardening Club. 

“We call it the Gardening Club because we are sowing the seeds for justice,” Hickman said. 

The students, accompanied by the marshals first walked around the exterior of the school. Then they listened to approximately 10 student speakers. The speakers addressed about 100 or so students who still remained. They spoke about what they were protesting about which mostly involved ICE and immigrants but also included other issues. The F word was heard in chants and some of the speeches. 

“F— Israel, f— Trump, f- Netanyahu,” said one speaker. 

During the marching students chanted slogans such as “Hey hey, ho, ho immigrants are welcome here and F— Ice.” 

A helicopter hovered high above Oak Park during the march and rally. 

One student, OPRF senior Grace Zoloto, criticized the way Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has spoken about autism.   

“Hello. My name is Grace, and I’m autistic,” Zoloto began her nearly 7 minute typed out speech. “I’m also a lot of other things. I’m an artist, a writer, a poet, an activist, and a big sister. I like dystopian fiction, long car rides and cookie dough ice cream. I don’t like horror movies, loud noises or fascist imperial governments taking aim at our most precious rights and liberties.” 

Zoloto said autism takes many forms. 

“Autism looks different in all of us and affects all of us differently,” Zoloto said. “Some cannot speak, some speak more than necessary. Some cannot move through their lives without constant support, and others blend fairly well into the general public. We are your next door neighbors, your classmates, and your teachers. We are all different, all incredible, and none of us are broken, diseased, or a burden to be eliminated.” 

Zoloto said that the problem lies less with autism but with how people with autism are treated. 

“I am not going to act like all autism looks like mine,” Zoloto said. “I am not going to deny that people with higher support needs, the sort of people RFK Jr. talks about, struggle more than I do, and that caring for them is more of a challenge. I am not going to deny the pain these individuals and their families may feel. But what people in power do not consider, what they never seem to think of, is that some of this pain is caused not by the autism itself, but by a society that does push autistic people to its margins.” 

After that a remnant of 20 or 30 students marched on the Lake Street sidewalk to the Target store on Lake Street to protest Target’s recent elimination of its DEI program. About 10 or so students entered the Target store and quietly walked around or stood in a group with their signs. They were left alone by Target security but asked to not block the entrances. The students complied. 

Freshman Aniyah Lattanzi said she heard about the walkout during lunch and decided to participate. 

“I’ve seen what ICE has been doing to the people here, it’s terrible and I want to stand against it so that’s why I walked out today,” Lattanzi said. 

When it was over Lattanzi, who did not stay to listen to the student speakers, said that she thought the protest was successful. 

“I think we accomplished a lot,” Lattanzi said. “We showed the public that we stand for every single person who sets foot on American soil and that they belong here and are welcome here. We saw a bunch of cars and they were honking and supporting us.” 

Hickman said that the walkout sent a needed message. 

“I honestly just think it’s going to inspire a bunch of students and young people to, like, use their voices for good and to feel like they have the power to do good even if they can’t vote yet,” Hickman said. “They can still get themselves informed and use their voices and inform others.” 

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